Reykjavík Botanic Garden

Projects and exhibitions

Climate Walk

Did you know the oldest plant at the Botanic Garden has sequestered carbon equivalent to the emissions of an average car over three months and 24 days?

The Climate Walk is an exhibit and guided tour through the Botanic Garden, discussing climate matters through the lens of the Garden's collection—its plants—and their habitats and roles in reducing climate threats.

This exhibit is sponsored by the Climate Fund and will continue until September 30, 2024.

Workshops and projects for schools

ABCDE+ workshops and projects for schools about water, soil and biodiversity

Artists and Botanic Gardens: Creating and Developing Educational Innovation (ABCDE+) is an educational tool that integrates science and arts instruction through combined teaching methods.

The page features workshops and projects themed around water, biodiversity and soil. The workshops are the result of courses in three countries led by artists and scientists from Iceland, Lithuania and Ireland. ABCDE+ received funding from Erasmus+ and was directed by Ásthildur Jónsdóttir and Reykjavík's Department of Education and Youth in collaboration with Reykjavík Botanic Garden, Laugarnesskóli, Iceland Academy of the Arts, and botanic gardens and schools in Dublin and Vilnius, along with INSEA, the International Society for Education through Art.

The website offers the workshop projects in four languages: Icelandic, English, Irish and Lithuanian.

• Visit the ABCDE website

Biodiversity scavenger hunt for children and families

In the summer, visitors to the Botanic Garden can take part in a biodiversity scavenger hunt within Laugardalur’s ecosystem.

All kinds of organisms—animals, plants, and fungi—have made Laugardalur their home. This refers to organisms that exist naturally there, not the plants cultivated in the Botanic Garden. These include thrushes in the trees, earthworms in the soil, honeybees buzzing in the flower beds, dandelions pushing through the pavement, and so on. A whole world opens up when you look closely. Life finds a place everywhere.

To join the biodiversity scavenger hunt, information cards are available in the display greenhouse lobby. Ask staff if you can't find the cards. The cards have simple tasks/topics encouraging participants to search for certain types of organisms and consider some interesting questions.

See, sow and taste - food and biodiversity project for preschools and primary schools - not available in 2025

Grow plants and learn more about food and biodiversity in the "See, sow and taste" project.

Want to learn more about plant cultivation through hands-on exercises with your students? Are biodiversity and local food important to you? If so, you and your students should participate in the "See, sow and taste" project by the Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen) in collaboration with Reykjavík Botanic Garden.

The "See, sow and taste" partners welcome you to this fun project focusing on preserving diverse food plants in the Nordic countries. Children learn where food comes from, how plant-based food is produced, and the variety of food plants that can be grown in our part of the world. Topics like food heritage, sustainability and self-sufficiency in food production will also be in focus. The project is for primary school teachers and those with the oldest preschool groups (4-5 year old children).

Teachers receive an educational package with seeds, plant instructions, and discussion topics and activity examples related to cultivation. The seeds come from the shared Nordic seed bank run by NordGen.

There are four educational packages designed for different education levels, with one for preschools. Some packages require outdoor cultivation on school grounds, such as those with planting boxes needing care throughout the growing season, while others are for designed for indoor cultivation with plants ready for consumption/results after a month of growing. Teachers can choose one or more packages that best suit them and their school.

The project also includes possible educational visits to Reykjavík Botanic Garden where the same plants will be growing and groups can do tasks related to the educational packages and learn more about vegetable cultivation and growing conditions in Iceland.

The project starts spring 2024, once educational packages have been delivered to participating schools. Participation is free but for some packages, schools will need certain basic materials for cultivation. One package is generally intended for one class/student group.

About NordGen and the Nordic Council of Ministers

The Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen) is an institution under the Nordic Council of Ministers, the official body for Nordic governmental cooperation. NordGen's main role is to preserve cultivated genetic resources and promote their sustainable use. NordGen also works on conservation plans, organizes conferences and meetings on the topic, and leads and participates in projects on genetic diversity of domestic animals, forests and cultivated plants. NordGen also manages the Nordic seed bank containing over 30,000 seed samples. The seed bank is crucial for developing and maintaining agriculture and food production in times of climate change and other environmental threats. NordGen is also one of the managers of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.

• More about NordGen at nordgen.org

Backpack visits for preschools, primary schools and after-school programs

You can book backpacks for fall and winter 2025 here.

Educational backpacks can be booked for visits to the Botanic Garden year-round. The backpacks are suitable for the oldest divisions of preschools and primary schools (we arrange activities based on education level and the children's age). The backpacks contain activities, pictures, magnifying glasses, binoculars, measuring tools, writing materials and more as appropriate for each backpack.

The backpacks are designed so school groups can use them immediately without prior experience. Botanic Garden staff will greet groups, provide the backpacks, review key information and museum rules, after which you'll work independently with the activities. Staff assistance can be requested as needed.

The activities are generally designed for one class or division to use the backpacks, but you may book for larger groups depending on the number of staff and children and what you feel comfortable managing.

Each group uses the backpack either before or after noon, and can stay as long as desired within that timeframe. Many groups bring snacks with them.

Several different backpacks are available, and you can book one or more for each visit:

• Plant backpack (year-round)

  • Additions: "Icelandic flora" (until Oct. 15)

  • Additions: "Trees" (intended for 3rd grade and older - year-round)

    Activities and content:

  • Magnifying glasses
  • Color exploration
  • Making mandalas
  • Finding shapes and plants
  • Plant knowledge
  • Plant search
  • Moss search
  • Tree measurements and tree rings

• Bird watching backpack (year-round)

  Activities and content:

  • How do we go bird watching?
  • Bird bingo
  • Bird knowledge
  • Binoculars
  • Map

• Microorganism backpack (until Sept. 15)

  Activities and content:

  • Magnifying glasses
  • Make your own bug
  • Small creature bingo
  • Small creature search
  • Make a spider web
  • Small creature knowledge
  • Wasp nest in a lunch box
  • Map

• Organism search backpack (year-round)

  Activities and content (varies by season):

  • Leaf bingo
  • Color exploration
  • Scent exploration
  • Biodiversity scavenger hunt
  • Pictures of living creatures
  • Magnifying glasses
  • Map

• Indoor backpacks in the display greenhouse (Oct. 1-Nov. 15 and again Jan. 2-April 30)

• Activities and content (varies by season):
  • Magnifying glasses
  • Food chains and food webs
  • Plant scavenger hunt
  • Drawing activity: trees and roots
  • Natural defenses
  • Memory games
    • Icelandic flora
    • Living creatures
    • Bees